If you say something is coming down the pike, that means it's going to happen sometime soon. But what is this "pike" you speak of? The answer might be found in your summer travel plans. Especially if you're from Michigan and you understand that summer just isn't complete without a trek down the Ohio Turnpike for a day at Cedar Point. So, "pike" in "coming down the pike" is simply a shortening of turnpike. That got us wondering though, where does "turnpike" come from? For starters, it's old.